Draft rigging



April 28, 1.925. y 1,535,315

B. w. KADEL DRAFT RIGGING Original Filed March 20, 1916 3 Sheetslshet 1@uw f da April 28, 1925. 1,535,315

B. w. KADEL DRAFT RIGGING Original Filed March 20, 1916 5 SheetsSheet 2u Z Y o uw a B. w. KABEL DRAFT RIGGING o'riginal Filed March 2o, 191e 5Sheets-Sheet @vi/bueno DRAFT RXGGKNG.

Application filed March 20 1916, Serial lilo. 85,4127. Renewed March 3,11925.

Baltimore city, and State of Maryland,

have invented certain new and useful lui-- for application to the underframe of freight cars, and consists in PlQviding in combination with anunder frame, novel means to connect, hold and sultably brace tlu`cushioning' mechanism seas to produce` a simple, strong, rigging.

'lo this end the main features of my invention, generally stated,consist in providing stop mechanism for the front follower of thecushioning mechanism, adapted to form a support, and means forattachment for the coupler guide,'the coupler carry iron mul the couplerlimit stops, and to form in connection with the end sill bracesstiftening members to suitably brace the center sills against lateralspreading.

'there are other features of the invention as will appear from a moredetailed description of the preferred embodimentthereof illustrated i'nthe accompanying drawings, the scope of the invention being pointed outin the claims.

'lhroughout the specification and drawings like numerals designate likeparts.

Figure 1 is a top plan view partially in section ol' draft gear devicesembodying the invention.

Figure 2 is u central longitudinal vertical section o the deviceillustrated in'll`igure 1, seine of the movable parts being shown` inelevation.

Figure El is au end elevation of'the stationarv portions of the deviceshowing their relation to the eur'under frame.

Figures 4 and 5 are detail sections taken ou line X-X el Figure 1,looking in the direetion ilulicated by the arrows designated -1--l and 5o, respectively.

compact and reliable draft showing a slightly modified construction of`rear follower and cushioning mechanism.

Reference being had yto the several illustrations and the referencenumerals thereon, 1, 1 indicate the center sills, 2 the cover plateextending from sill to sill over the draft mechanism, 3 the end framing,d and 5 indicate they center or end sill braces, adapted 'to rigidlyconnect the center sills to the end framing, and 6 designates one of thebraces for the end framing.

Connected. to the inner face of each center sill and ladjacent the endthereof are the cheek plates generally designated by the numeral 7, andsince these cheek-plates are counterparts a description of one thereofwill sufce. lin Figures 8 to 12 of the drawings there is shown acheelrlate 7 which is preferabl provided with a ongitudinally extendings o t or opening 8, the outer edges thereof, for convenience, beingprovided with a reinforcing flange 9 adapted to ex tend through anropening 8a in the center sills. Adjacent the inner end and at theupper. and lower portions thereof the cheekplate is provided withinwardly projecting stops or stop shoulders 10 and 11. rllie said stopsare suitably spaced apart, 'so as to permit an arm of the couplerconnecting means, hereinafter described, to pass between the said stops.lach of the said stops may be suitably braced; the upper stop 10being-reinforced by the horizontal ribs 12, l2ZL and 13 formed on theweb 7a of the plate 7, and by the vertical web er flange 16, Likewise,the lower stop 1,1 is preferably reinforced 'by correspondinglongitudinal ribs 14C and 15 and by a vertical web or flange 17. lnorder to further strengthen these stops and to [lid till

stiden l the longitudinal ribs, the respective pairs of longitudinallyextending ribs are preferably provided with one or more verticalreinforcing members such as shown at 18 and 19. As will .be seen fromFigure 9, the web 7a may, intermediate the stop shoulders 10 and 11, beprovided with a rearwardly extending portion to increase the strength ofthe pla te adjacent the inner end of the slot 8, there-- by effectingareduction in the length of the draft mechanism and a diminution in Itheweight of the cheek-plate without affecting the strength of the latter.This extended portion 20 is preferably centrally located with referenceto the slot 8 formed in the cheek plate, and the maximum width of thesaid portion is less than'the space separating the upper and lower stopmembers. The horizontal or longitudinally extending ribs 13 and 14, are,itA will be noted, preferablyv extended to the forward end of the cheekplate 7 and adjacent the end ofthe plate yse are widened out as shown at21 and 22 for purposes to be hereinafter described. 'The ribs 14 and 15are reduced in width, as shown at 52, forwardly of the stop shoulder 1lfor a purpose to he hereinafter disclosed. The center sills 1, 1 arepreferably channelebeams having the flanges 'thereof outwardly directed,and the cheek-plate 7, in order to be securely connected to the adjacentcenter sill and to brace and stiden the same, is preferably providedwith an outwardly directed flange 23, `adapted to underlie and to besecured tofthe lower flange of the said sill. A vertical flange or web24 is provided at the lower outer end of the cheek-plate 7, as shown.

Referring now to Figures' l and 2, 25

designates the coupler which may be slidably connected to the yoke 26 bymeans of a. key 27 which passes through alined slots 28 and 29 in thecoupler and yoke, respectivel and through the slots 8 and 8 in the chee-plates and sills. The rearwardly extending portion of the slot 28 inthe coupler is preferably reinforced by the outwardly extending wings orflanges 28a and likewise there are formed'on the inner or adjacent facesof the yoke arms. 26, and adjacent the outer ends of the slots 29therein, reinforc- -ing means or inclined shoulders 29a, 29a.

The outwardly extending wings 28 on 'the coupler in the normal positionof the same, overliethe rear ends 'of the ilanges -14 and 15; thereduced portion 52 of the said 'flanges or ribs, hereinbefore described,is

designed to ermit the downward removal of the coup er independently ofthe yoke and cushioning mechanism. ln order to remove the coupler thekey 27`is removed and the coupler is drawn forwardly until the wings28contact with the projections 29 on theV yoke, in which position thewings menait' 28 on the coupler will clear the reduced portion of theribs or flanges 14 and 15 on the opposed cheek castings 7, therebypermitting the coupler to be dropped vertically. The cushioningmechanism., which is of a well known ytype of frictional resistancedevice, is generally designated by the numeral 30, and since itl formsno part of the invention except in combination, need not be furtherdescribed except as to its coaction with the front follower which willbe set forth hereinafter.

The numeral 31 designates the front follower which is H-shaped as shownin Figure 4, and is provided with upper and lower arms 32 and33,'respectively, adapted to receive between them the arms of the yoke26. The extended portion 20 of each cheek-plate 7 hereinbefore referredto, is adapted to extend into the opening between the adjacent upper andlower arms 32 and 33, respectively, of the follower 31. Thus enablingthis reinforcing member to extend rearwardly of the front 4face of thefollower without interfering with the proper seating of the same againstthe stop shoulders 10 and 11.

To compensate for the reduction in area of the yoke arms, due to theslots 29 therein, without increasing the size of the yoke-receivingopenings in the front follower, the

yoke arms are preferably increased in width Y Y from the front face ofthe said follower forwardly as shown in dotted lines in Figure 2, thewidened portions of the yoke arms thus extending rearwardly to, orpreferably somewhat inwardly of, the rear or inner ends of the slots 29.

The rear follower 34 is preferably provided with seats or shoulders,such as 35, adapted to contact with the lower faces of the rear end ofthe yoke or coupler connecting means 26, to thereby form asupport forthe same. The ortion of the follower 34 above the projections 35 lieswholly between l creased wearing surface for the said fol-` lower. Theprojections, or projection, as the case may be, are made slightly longerthan the permissive 'travel' of the coupler, and hence it will beevident that, even in case of the sticking of the frictional device, i.e., a failure to properly release from a compressive strain, thefollower will always be maintained in a vertical position and so locatedwith reference to the frietional device or other cushioning mechanism,that all danger of the follower jamming or failing to maintain itsproper-relation is entirely eliminated. The projections 35 on the rearfollower 34 support the yoke 26, and the follower 34 is in turn slidablysupported by a plate 38 which is secured to the draft sills b means ofthe bolts 39. The plate 38'pre erably extends under the rear followerand under the rear end of the cushioning mechanism and serves to supportboth of these elements and to per,r mit their sliding movement inpulling. lIn Figure 13 there is shown a simplified arrangement of theconstruction for support-- ing the cushioning mechanism and rear folAlower. In this figure, a designates the rear end of the cushioningmechanism, 34a the rear follower, 35a the projections on the rearfollower which are adapted to support the yoke 26", and 38a designateslthe supporting plate which slidably engages .the rear follower andthecushioning mechanism. As will be noted, the follower 34' is very muchincreased `in thickness over the follower 34, as shown in the preferredform, and it is therefore unnecessary to provide alining means on thefollower to hold the same in its proper position. f-

The follower 34, referring to the preferred form, is referably` providedwith an inclined or beveled portion 34b to enable the follower to beentered between the cushioning mechanism and the yoke after the otherparts of the cushioning mechanism have been assembled on the car andthen to be driven into place in order to produce the necessary ordesired initialcompression.

' An H-shaped front follower such as 1s shown in Figure 4, cannot belifted directly into lplace, but must be entered at an angle to the armsof the yoke and then given a quarter turn into its normal position,Hence in either assembling or disassembling a device such as isillustrated it is necessary that the cushioning mechanism be removedfrom the yoke in order to disengage the lef-shaped follower from betweenthe arms thereof. As will be noted, the front follower 31 is providedwith a boss or lug which enters a suitable aperture 51 in theco-operating face of the cushioning mechanism to thereby hold theseveral parts in alinement. lt is therefore necessary to provide a rearfollower such as 34, which may be removed vertically downward in `orderto provide sufficient clearance when the same is removed, to permit thecushioningmechanism to be moved rearwardly sufficiently to clear theprojection 50 so the same may be taken down, after which the follower 31canbe rotated sufliciently to disengage the projections thereof from theyoke arms.

rlhe numeral 37 designates the frontl tieplate or supporting plate whichholds some of the moving parts of the device in their assembledrelation. This plate is vsuitably connected to tlie""lower flanges ofthecenter sills 1, 1 by theholts 39.

The couplerv guide 41 which preferably consists of apiece ofcomparatively light sheet metal having vertical offsets 41, 41n thereinis connected by means. of the rivets 40 to the ribs 21 of thecheek-plate 7 The principal function and purpose of this plateis toprevent the coupler from rising. lt also actsr as a cou ler stop, but itis also made light enougllf to give way under a heavy blow in order tosave the cou ler head from damage shouldv the couplere forced rearwardlyunder an' ,abnormal buffing strain. The offsets 41a, in addition to forming spaces to accommodate the lower heads of the rivets 40, serve togive some dexibility to this guide transversely of the car so that itwill not act as a tie member between the cheek-plates but will readilygive under strains produced by a lateral movement of the cou ler andwill not tend to strain the cheek-p ateA castings by imparting strainsthereto incidentto tievmembers, the braces 4 and 5 hereinaftermore-full?,L described serve to hold the sill against lateral spread`ing. The lower ribs 22, 22 of the cheekplate 7 form a support for thecombined' carry-iron and coupler limit stop piece or' device 42. Thismember", as will be noted, is preferably formed as an angle bar havingone flange. 43 placed horizontally and adapted to rest adjacent to itsends on the ribs or flanges 23, 23, the said flange 43 be ing preferablyof a length to allow its in sertion between the inner faces of the webs7a of the cheek-castings. rllhey flange 43 is provided at each end withan upwardly projecting portion 44 which, for example,

may be readily formed by cuttingand bending the outer ends of the dange43 u wardly and at right angles to said flange. wardly projectingmembers 44, 44 are adapted to serve as coupler limit stops, and

he upto prevent the coupler from contacting with ing strain, and areonly required to hold the carry-iron from forward movement.' l

rlhe brace members 4 and 5, herenbefore referred to, are adapted to heconnected .to the center sills in any approved manner in the plane ofthe end framing 3, and to be connected thereto by any suitable means,as, for example, by the use of the rivets 47; the vertical webs 47 ofthese braces, at the points where they would intersect the slots 8 inthe sill, arel preferably provided with tion with the sill brace 5 it ispreferred to provide a pipe clamp, as for example, a headless U-bolt 49,to receive lthe air-brake pipe. rilhis form of lpipe-holding meansprovides both an economcal and convenient. means forconnecting thebrake-pipe to the car end in full acfordance with the Master CarBuilders requirements governing the interchange of cars, which are inthis regard that the end of the air-pipe-must be located in thehorizontal plane bisecting the coupler and thirteen inches off thecenter line of the car. The rivets which secure lthe braces 4 and 5 tothe sills also j through and connect the cheek-plates ti ./to.

There are many advantages inherent in the invention hereinbeforedescribed as will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which thesame appertains. lt will not, it is believed, be out of place to pointout some thereof in"greater detaii.

In assembling and removing draft mechanisms from car under frames, andparticularly those mechanisms in which a horizontal yoke is applied, itis often necessary to remove coupler and yoke and owing to the lateralprojection on these members shown lthe removal of the yoke.

clearly in Figure l adjacent the opposite edges of the key 27, it hasheretofore been necessary to either spring apart the arms of the yoke soas to permit the removal of the coupler, or to remove the coupler limitstops to enable the yoke and draw-bar to be taken out together. Limitstops of the kind heretofore used are connected to the car sills,generally by riveting, so that it becomes necessary, when it is desiredto remove the yoke, to cut the rivets holding the stops in place since,as will also be observed from the drawings, these stops normally preventit will, therefore, be apparent, thatby the use of a combined carry-ironand coupler limit stops device, such as is disclosed herein, it ispossible, by the simple removal of four bolts, to take out the couplerand yoke, after the cushioning mechanism is removed. "this removabili'tygreatly reduces the cost of labor on such replacements Having nowdescribed my devi-ce in detail, although it is to be understo that theforegoing description and drawing are merely illustrative of oneembodiment of my device, and that the terms used in this specificationare to be taken in their descriptive and not their limiting sense, sincewhat l claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

` 1. In a draft rigging and in combination with the coupler, ahorizontally disposed messie yoke, and cushioning mechanism therefor, ofa follower, means for supporting the same, a projection nn saidfollower, adapted to contactv with said supporting means, saidprojection serving as means for alining the cushioning mechanism and thefollower, and means on said follower for supporting the yoke.

y 2. ln a draft rigging and'in .combination with a horizontally disposedyoke, of a follower having lateral projections thereon to support theyoke, the portion of the follower above the said projection being whollyincluded between the planes of the yoke arms.

8. ln a draft rigging and in combination with a horizontally disposedyoke, a cushioning mechanism within the same, of a follower havingintermediate its ends means to support the yoke, said follower alsobeing provided with a projection adapted to underlie and form aliningmeans for the cushioning mechanism.

4. In a draft rigging and in combination with the coupler, ahorizontally disposed yoke and cushioning mechanism, of a follower, saidfollower having a projecting portion adapted' to underlie the cushioningmechanism and also having projecting portions adapted to support'theyoke, said follower being removable vertically from below independentlyof the yoke and cushioning mechanism.

'In a draft rigging and in combination with the draft sills, coupler,horizontally disposed yoke, and cushioning mechanism, of a pair offollowers, each of said followers being provided with lateral extensionsto support the yoke, one of said followers having other projectionsadapted to overlie the yoke arms, the other of said followers beingremovable vertically independently of the yoke and cushioning mechanism.

6. In a draft rigging, draft sills, a coupler, a horizontally disposedyoke, a cushioning mechanism within the same, `a removable carry iron,means formed on the carry iron and adapted to extend into the plane ofthe arms of the said yoke, said means serving as stops to limit theswing of the 'coupler and being removable with die carry iron.

7. ln a draft rigging, a coupler, a yoke connected thereto, an endframing, a pair of flanged draft sills having their webs vertical, cheekplates respectively connected to the webs of the said sills at theirupper portions, said plates extending below the said sills and providedeach with portions adapted to respectively project under and beconnected to a flange of the corresponding sill, each of said platesbeing adapted at one end to extend forwardly beyond the end framing andprovided at the opposite end with a pair of spaced stop shouldersbetween which the yoke is adapted to pass.

8. ln a draft rigging and in combination naat,

with the draft sills, a coupler, a yoke and cushioning mechanism, of apair of cheek plates connected to said sills, each of said plates beingprovided with an inwardly er:u tending dange adjacent its forward end,said Hanges serving as a support for the coupler carry iron, and a carryiron resting upon said flanges of the cheek-plates.`-

9. ln a draft rigging, the combination with center sills, of cheekplates connected to theinner faces of said sills, each of said cheekplates having an outwardly projecting follower engaging shoulder,longitudinally extending ribs formedon each cheek plate for bracing saidshoulder, and a coupler guide plate extending between said cheekplatesand over the coupler and connecting c corresponding ribs of said cheekplates.

l0. ln a draft rigging for railway cars, the combination with centersills, of cheek platesconnected to the inner faces of said sills, theforward portions of said cheek plates extending beyond the end fra-mingof the car and being provided with longitudinally extending ribs, and acoupler guide plate connecting-said ribs at a point beyond the endframing of the car.

11. In a draft rigging and in combination with the coupler andcushioning mechanism., of cheek plates a carry iron secured to saidcheek plates and adapted to support the forward end of said coupler,said carry Viron having portions thereof adapted to extend upwardlybetween the sides of the coupler and the adjacent portions of the saidcheek plates and to contact the latter, said portions serving as stopsto limit the swing of the coupler. ,j

l2. ln a draft rigging, the combination with spaced center sills, ofcheek plates connected thereto, said cheek plates each being providedwith an inwardly projecting flange, a car coupler positioned betweensaid sills,

` and a removable carry iron bridging the space between said sills, saidcarry iron being adapted to overlie the flanges of said cheek plates andbeing furnished with. upwardly projectingv coupler limit stops which areattached to and removable with said carry iron, said stops, when saidcarry iron is in place, serving as means for decreasing the electivewidth of the space between said sills.-

13. In a k,draft rigging, the combination with a coupler and itscushioning mech anism including a horizontally disposed yoke, of a 'carframing having therein an opening adapted to receive the shank of thecar coupler, said opening being closed below by a detachable carry ironwhich is adapted to support the coupler, said carry iron having portionswhich overlap the sides of the shank of the coupler and projecting intothe planes of the said yoke arms, said proec tions serving 4as limitstops for the 'coup er,

`and the edective width of the said coupler opening in the car framingbeing adapted to be increased by the detachment of said carry iron, v'

lt.l ln a draft rigging, and in combination with the draft sills of acar framing, a coupler and cushioning mechanism therefor including ahorizontally disposed yoke, of.

means for supporting the cushioning mechanism from the car framing, anda carry iron for supporting said coupler from the car framing, saidcarry iron having means plates,`braces connected to said sills, eaclr4of said braces being provided' with a depressed portion adjacent theslot in the corresponding sill, the ends of the said key being adaptedto extend into said depressed portions of the said braces.

16. ln a draft rigging, and in combination with slotted draft sills, ofcheek-plates connected to the inner faces thereof, each of said platesbeing provided with a slot registering with the slot in the adjacentsill, a coupler, a yoke, a key connecting the coupler and yoke, said keypassing through the said slots in the cheek-plates and sills, a braceconnected to the outer face of each sill adjacent the slot therein. saidb races and the cheek-plates co-operating to stiffen the draft sills,each of\said braces being prottl lllli vided with a recess adapted toextend around. y

the end of the slot in the adjacent sill, to thereby lprevent the saidkey from contact- 'l ing with the said braces.

17. ln a draft rigging, the combination of extending means passing underand slidably engaging the said follower and serving to support thecushioning mechanism.

'19. ln a draft rigging, the combination with the coupler, ahorizontally disposed yoke and cushioningrmeans, of a follower means, incombination with slotted dra-ftI yoke, and cus ioning mechanismtherefor,

of a pair of followers, one disposed at each endof the said cushioningmechanism, one

of said followers and the cushioning mechanism having interengagingmeans said foly lower being also provided with projections overlying theyoke arms, the other of the said followers being removable independentlyof the said cushioning mechanism to,

thereby' permit the said cushioning mechanism and interengaging followerto be shifted out of engagement and independently removed.

21. In a draft rigging, the ,combinationwith the draft sills, a coupler.yoke and cushioning mechanism, of a pair of cheek plates connected tothe said sills. said cheek plates having transverse vertical flanges attheirends, an angle bar carry iron bridging the space between the cheekplates and securing means for said carry iron comprising bolts whichpass through the vertical leg of the angle bar and the said verticalflanges of the cheek plates, the horizontal leg of the angle bar beingadjacent the lower side of the coupler.

22. In a draft rigging, a pair of draft sills, cheek plates connected tothe said sills and each provided with an inwardly projecting flange. anda coupler guide plate extending from cheek plate to cheek plate andsecured to the flanges thereof, the said coupler guide having a verticalYoffset therein.

`23. In a draft rigging, the combination with the car framing. acoupler, a' yoke and cushioning mechanism. of a removable' member.adapted to underlie the forward end of the said coupler` said memberhaving portions thereof extending upwardly between the sides of thecoupler and stationary parts of the car framing and adapted to Contactthe latter said portions serving as stops to limit the swing of thecoupler and being adapted to prevent the removal of the yoke when saidmember is in place.

24. In a draft rigging, acoupler, a horizontally disposed yoke, andcushioning sills, slotted cheek plates secured thereto with therespective slots thereof in alinement, stop faces on said cheek plateswith ways therein adapted to1 accommodate the adjacent yoke arms, theslots in the said cheek plates extending adjacent the said stop facesand the met-.il of each cheek plate being extended out around the slottherein beyond the Vplane of the stop faces, the

width of the extended portion being within the limits of the yoke armways.

25. In a draft rigging a car, draft sills, cheek plates secured to theopposing faces of said draft sills, a coupler having at the inner endhorizontally extending portions disposed between the said'cheek plates,the said cheek plates having horizontal ribs which underlie the saidportions of the said coupler, a horizontally disposed yoke having thearms thereof disposed along each side of the coupler and having inwardlyturned enlargements which extend into the plane of the end portions ofthe coupler, a key connecting the said coupler and yoke, the said ribson the cheek plates being out away to provide an opening therebetween topermit dropping the coupler when the said key has been removed and thecoupler drawn forwardly out of its normal position,

26. In a draft rigging, a car, a pair of slotted draft sills, slottedstop castings secured to said draft sills and having stop faces withyoke ways therein, a follower abutting the said stop faces and havingsimilar yoke ways therein, a slotted coupler a slotted coupler yoke, akey extending through all of the said slots and connecting the saidcoupler and yoke together7 the arms of the said yoke being enlargedadjacentI the said with the draft sills and a horizontally arrangedyoke, of cheek plates connected to the sills, said` cheek plates eachbeing provided with horizontally extending portions aboveand below theyoke arms, said portions serving to guide the forward portions of theyoke, a carry iron bridging the space between the sills and providedwith portions which extend upwardly between the sills into the path ofmovement of the yoke, and a downwardly removable supporting member forthe rear end of the yoke, said yoke being removable horizontally frombetween the sills after the removal of the carry iron and the rearsupporting member.

28. In a draft rigging, the combination with draft sills, of cheekplates connected ica thereto a coupler, a horizontally disposed v4andprojections on the inner faces of the yoke arms adjacent the key slotsthereof.

30; In a draft rigging, the combination with a pair of draft sills, ofcheek-plates connected to the inner faces of the said sills adjacent theends thereof, said plates having projecting portions below the upperedges thereof, and a plate extending above the couplerand connected tothe said projecting portions of said cheek-plates, said connecting plateserving' as a coupler guide. will. In a' draft rigging, the-combinationwith center sills, of a cushioning mechanism positioned between thesills, said cushioning mechanism including a follower, a yokesurrounding said cushioning mechanism,A front stop members adapted totransmit draft strains only, rear stops spaced; from said front stopmembers andadapted to transmit buifmg strains only, said front stopmembers being normally engaged by said follower and terminatingsubstantially in the planethereof, the forward face of said followerextending forwardly. of the rear end of said front stop members. n

32. In a draft rigging, the combination with ahorizontally disposed yokemember and a cushioning mechanism therein, of a rear follower removableindependently of said yoke and cushioning mechanism, said followercomprising a pluralit of spaced Walls, ribs extendingbetween said walls,one wall of said follower having a flat face to engage a cushioningelement the other wall being curved at its edges to t within the radiiof the yoke.

33. In a draft rigging, the combination with a rhorizontally disposedyoke, a cushioning mechanism therem; of a follower removableindependently of -said yoke and cushioning mechanism, said followercomprising a plurality of spaced substantially rectangular walls, and aplurality of series of ribs for connecting the same, one of said seriesextending in an angular direction t0 another series, said follower wallsbeing substantially equalin area. a

34. In a draft rigging, draft sills, a. coupler, a horiiontally dlsposedyoke, a cushioning mechanism within the same, a removable coupler carryiron, means formed on the follower, and the yoke being removable onlyafter the removal of the cushioningmechanism and the carry iron.

35. In a draft rigging, thecombination with a slotted coupler, of aslotted yoke, means for connecting said yoke and coupler, said meanscomprising a key extending through said coupler and yoke, the walls ofthe said slots in the said coupler and yoke being arranged so as totransmit draft forces to said key as a direct compression.

3G. In a draft rigging, the combination with a coupler, of ahorizontally disposed yoke and a transversely extending connecting key,said yoke and coupler having laterally projecting portions which areadapted to overlappingly engage oppositely disposed portions of saidkey.

37. In a draft rigging, the combination with a coupler having atransversely extending key slot therein, of a horizontally disposed yokehaving key receiving slots in the arms thereof` portions of the coupleradjacent the` said slotI being tapered outwardly and rearwardly to forman extended key bearing at the rear end of the slot, the said yoke armsbeing provided with inwardly projecting portions adjacent the forwardedges of the slots therein and a transversely extending key forconnecting said coupler and yoke, portions of said key being incompression under draft strains.

38. In a draft rigging, the combination with draft sills, ofcheek-plates connectedA Y to the inner faces thereof, a coupler having akey slot therein, the rear wall of said key slot being outwardlyextended by means of projections on the said coupler a yoke with whichsaid coupler is connectedl by means of a transversely extending key,said yoke being provided adjacent the front ends of the key slots withlaterally extending por tions, said key being ada ted to extend throughthe coupler and yo e and throu h slots in said cheek-plates, and meansAor preventing the yoke from moving longitudinally of the said key. v

39. In a drs'aft-rig ing, the combination with a air of slotte draftsills, of slotted cheek-p ates connected thereto, a coupler, a yoke,cushioning means within the latter, a key for operatively connecting thesaid coupler and yoke, said key being adapted to pass throu h alinedslots in said draft sills, cheek-p ates and yoke, .projections formed onsaid coupler and yoke, said projections being adapted to engageoppositely disposed portions on said key to place the same undercompression upon movement of the coupler in one direction.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

